Bottle-stopper fastener



(ModeL) W. PAINTER.

BOTTLE STOPPER FASTENER.

INVENTOR m ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 4, 1885.

WITNESSES if? Aren't @rricn W'ILLIAM PAINTER, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

BOTTLE-STOPPER FASTENER.

5PBCIPICATION Application filed November 25, 1884.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, XVILLIAM PAINTER, of Baltimore, in the county of Baltimore and State of Maryland, have invented a new and useful Bottle-Stopper Fastener of which the following is a full and accurate description.

The improvement relates to that class of stopper fasteners wherein the stopper is hinged to a bail, which in turn is hinged to the neck of the bottle, and after being brought into position on the mouth of the bottle is forced down to its seat by means of a crank, toggle, or cam.

My invention consists in so constructing and arranging the several parts as to obviate the objections heretofore existing in this class of fasteners.

Heretofore in fasteners of the same general character as mine, employing a pivoted bail, stopper, and compressing device located at the top of the bottle, said bails have always been pivoted to the bottleneck at or about the median line, and when the stopper has been released by the reflex movement of the crank, toggle, or cam usually employed,the side n10 vement to take it away from the mouth of the bottle is in a curved line, whereof the center is the pivotal connection of the bail to the bottleneck, and therefore, from the median posit-ion of said pivots, the stopper must move downward toward one or the other edge of the bottle-mouth, as will be readily understood. To compensate for this objectionable feature, and to obtain the necessary lift to enable the stopper to swing freely away from the bottlemouth, it has heretofore been necessary to give the crank or cam so much throw and to make the bail so long that the parts projected upward to such a greatdistance as to make such fasteners objectionable on account of their in creased height, the obstruction they offer in handling, packing, and transporting, their exposure to injury, and accidental opening, and their clumsy, ungainly appearance. My invention entirely obviates these defects, and produces a stopper-fastener requiring but a slight throw of the crank or cam and a short bail, so that the parts lie close and snug. It is without projecting parts, cannot be accidentally unlocked, is neat in appearance, easily opened, and conveniently closed, while the forming part of Letters Patent No. 315,655, dated April 1 1885.

(Model.l

stopper swings clear of the bottlemouth in opening or closing. These advantages are gained by pivoting the swinging bail to the side of the bottle-neck, instead of at the center, so that as the bail moves on its centers it carries thestopper away from and not toward the edge of the bottle-mouth, the movementof the compressing crank or cam being in the same direction and contributing to the same result.

I am aware that the hail of a stopper-fastener has been hinged to the side of the bottleneck, instead of at its center; but I am not aware that abail and stopperso arranged have ever been provided with a crank, cam, or othersimilar compressing device, whereby the stopper could be forced to its seat after being brought to position on the mouth of the bottle. Such stopper-fitsteners have heretofore depended solely upon the elasticity of the stop perpad to secure the closure of the bottle.

In the accompanying drriwingsFigure 1 is a perspective view ofmyfastenerin action. Fig. 2 is aside elevation showing the stopper about to be placed on the mouth of the bottle. Fig. 3 is a stopper on the bottle-mouth, but not yet forced to its seat; Fig. 4, the fastener closed, and Fig. 5 a perspective from the front showing the neck-wire, bail, and stopper between the coils thereof. Fig. 6 is a top plan showing the centering action of the bail-wire coils.

A is the compound stopper, with disk, stern, and lug of the same general form as heretofore used.

B is the bail hinged at or near one side of the bottleneck, as at gy. The bail is provided with two coils, I; I), at top, through which passes the crankwire C. One end of it extends through the coil or bearing 1), and is bent down to form a lever, d, by which the crank is manipulated. The crank 0 stands at an angle with respect to the lever d, so that when said lever rests against the bailwvire the crankwill have passed a short distance beyond its dead point, whereby it is locked firmly in position.

a is a perforated lug on the stoppcrA through which the crank passes. This lug may be at the center; but I prefer placing it a slight distance out of center to equalize the pressure on thestopper. The bail-wire therefore passes obliquely across the mouth of the bottle when the stopper is in place, as shown inFig. 4.

The loops 9 g of the binding-wire, in which the bail is pivoted, are made by forming coils in said wire, and when twisting the coils, so as to make the wire cross itself, as shown at h.

Two ofthese bearings are made in the binding wire at a suitable distance apartsay, for an ordinary beer-bottle, about three-quarters of an inch. When applied to the bottle-neck E the ends of the wire are twisted together, as usual. Loops made in this way cannot pull out or separate, being held and bound together by the cross-wire at h, as described.

By reference to Figs. 4 and 5 it will be seen that the crank and hail lie very close to the stopper by reason of the short throw of the crank, the shortness of the bail and its inclined position, and by the angular position of the crank after having passed its dead-point, its movement in reaching that point being downward.

In opening the bottle the crank is turned in its b'earings by the lever d into the position shown in Fig. 2, the action of the crank lift-- ing the stopper A from its seat sufficiently to readily clear the bottle-mouth. During this movement of the crank the bail is transferred from an oblique to a vertical position, as in Fig. 2, and the stopper is carried by the further movement of the bail entirely away from the bottle-mouth, and hangs down against its side. In closing the bottle the stopper is placed on its seat on the bottle-mouth, as shown in Fig. 3, and the lever depressed, forcing the stop per firmly down into the mouth of the bottle. The pressure of the crank upon the stopper whilethe latter is being forced to its seat is in an almost vertical line, as shown in Fig. 3, and a very even, uniform, and forcible contact of the parts is produced. It is only after the seating of the rubber stopper by the crank has been mainly efiected that the oblique position of the bail is assumed. It will be understood, therefore, that such oblique position, finally assumed, can have, practically, no effect in disturbing the uniformity of contact between the stopper and the bottle-mouth, and the closure is therefore perfectly tight. The shortness of the throw of the crank, admissible by reason of this construction, is attended by the further advantage of enabling great pressure to be applied to the stopper while still using a comparatively short actuating-lever. The fastener therefore requires the exertion of but little force on the lever to open or close it. The portion of the crank G that passes through the lug a is straight for a short distance, and the coils b b are just far enough apart to easily admit the disk of the stopper A between them when the stopper is in position ready to be forced to its seat, as

. shown in Figs. 2 and 3. By this means the stopper is brought central with the crank and bail, and remains so during the further movement of the parts.

By reason of the formation of the several parts just described, the disk A and lug a are prevented from getting awry on the crank, and no manipulation of the parts is necessary, the act of placing the stopper on the bottle-mouth always, of necessity, bringing the parts into proper position, and great convenience and rapidity in closing the bottle result.

While I have described but one form of compressing device, in connection with the bail pivoted to one side of the bottleneck, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to this particular construction. Various forms and arrangements of cranks, cams, toggles. and other similar devices may be used instead of the particular form of crank and lever here shown, and the advantages of my organization thus realized to a greater or less extent.

I claim 1. In a bottle-stopper fastening, in combination with a stopper and a bail pivoted to one side of the bottleneck, a compressing crank or cam attached to-said bail above said stopper, and adapted to force the stopper to its seat, substantially as described.

2. In a bottle-stopper fastening, the combination of a swinging bail pivoted to one side of the bottleneck, a crank or other similar compressing device pivoted to said bail, and a stopper pivoted to the compressing device, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a bottle-stopper fastening, a neck-wire having its pivotal bearings at one side of the bottle-neck, a swinging bail pivoted therein, and having bearings at top formed by coils in the bail-wire, a crank pivoted to said bearings and having an actuating-lever, and a stopper pivoted to the crank, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

4. Abottle-stopper fasteninghaving the bail pivoted at one side of the bottle-neck, and provided with a crank and stopper, substantially as described, the coils of said bail being adapted to embrace and guide the stopperinto central position, as set forth.

5. The neck-wire having pivotal bearings for the bail, formed by coils located below the line of said neclowire, and substantially in line with the side of the bottle-neck, said coils being held and bound together by the crossing of the wire, substantially as described.

WILLIAM PAINTER.

Witnesses:

CHARLES H. Bonn, ORRIN O. PAINTER. 

